Feeling Lonely? Connecting With Nature Can Help University Students Find Peace, Meaning, IIM Indore Study Finds
· Free Press Journal
Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Nature could be more than a welcome escape from crowded cities and digital screens; it may also help young people feel less lonely, particularly students living away from their families, a study by IIM Indore has found.
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Published in the journal Cities, the study, titled Impact of Nature Connectedness on Loneliness Among University Students Living Away From Home: The Mediating Roles of Meaningfulness, Peace of Mind, and Resilience, examined whether a person's emotional and psychological connection with nature can reduce loneliness and explored the psychological processes behind the relationship.
The study, conducted by Raina Chhajer, covered 257 Indian urban university students aged 19-26 who had moved away from home for higher education. The researchers found a significant negative association between nature connectedness and loneliness — students who felt more closely connected to the natural world tended to report lower levels of loneliness.
The findings assume significance as rapid urbanisation and increasing dependence on digital communication reshape the way young people interact with their surroundings. Students moving away from home can be particularly vulnerable to social isolation and the challenges of adjusting to unfamiliar environments.
Interestingly, access to green spaces did not appear to be the main issue. Nearly 97.3% of the students said they had urban green spaces nearby, but only 53.7% visited these spaces at least once a week. Meanwhile, 83.7% reported living alone.
The study suggests that simply having a park nearby may not be enough. What matters is developing a deeper psychological connection with nature.
Researchers examined three potential pathways: meaningfulness, peace of mind and psychological resilience. Nature connectedness was positively associated with all three, while each was independently linked to lower loneliness.
However, the mediation analysis produced a more specific finding. Meaningfulness and peace of mind significantly mediated the relationship between nature connectedness and loneliness.
This indicates that nature may help reduce loneliness by giving individuals a stronger sense of purpose and significance in life, while also fostering a state of calm and emotional well-being.
Resilience, on the other hand, did not emerge as a significant mediator. The finding suggests that the benefits of nature may operate more through immediate existential and emotional experiences than through a person's general capacity to cope with adversity.
The study has implications for universities as well as urban planners. Educational institutions could encourage greater engagement with nature through campus green spaces, outdoor mindfulness programmes, community gardening and nature-based activities, alongside existing counselling and student support services.
Urban planners, meanwhile, could strengthen access to parks, green corridors, blue spaces and nature-rich campus environments, particularly in rapidly expanding cities.
The researchers argue that addressing youth loneliness requires a multidimensional approach combining environmental design, social engagement and psychological support.
At a time when student life is becoming increasingly urban and digitally connected, the study offers a simple insight: creating opportunities to connect with nature could help young people find not only a moment of calm, but also greater meaning, and potentially, less loneliness.
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